Visual aid for sportsman gunning

ABSTRACT

A tracer shot shell includes a tubular casing having a base, a primer cap in the base, an explosive gun powder propellent in the casing adjacent the cap, and a power piston containing shot. The shot is in the form of pellets, preferably of rubber or plastic, to each of which is secured an elongated tail of fluorescent material, preferably orange color. The tails may be from 1 to 3 inches long. The explosive charge in the shell is preferably reduced to a one-third or other fraction of a normal charge, to reduce the velocity of the pellets, so that the paths of the pellets are visible to the marksman.

United States Patent [191 Schmitt VISUAL AID FOR SPORTSMAN GUNNllNG [76] Inventor: Paul F. Schmitt, Lazy Day Lakes,

Box l35-A, RD. No. l, Perkasie, Pa. 18944 [22] Filed: Dec. 3, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 204,666

[52] US. Cl. 102/87, 102/42 R [51] Int. Cl. F42b 11/16- [58] Field of Search 42/54; 102/87, 89, 102/42, 42 C [56] References Cited 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,599,568 8/1971 Shellnutt 102/42 C 1,864,916 6/1932 Gachassin-Lafite.... 102/42 C 3,515,070 6/1970 Cutler et a1 102/60 3,262,390 7/1966 Cowles et a1. 102/87 I: 2 l] 32 I i 3 [451 Sept. 25, was

Primary ExaminerBenjamin A. Borchelt Assistant Examiner-11. J. Tudor AttorneyHenry N. Paul, Jr. et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT A tracer shot shell includes a tubular casing having a base, a primer cap in the base, an explosive gun powder propellent in the casing adjacent the cap, and a power piston containing shot. The shot is in the form of pellets, preferably of rubber or plastic, to each of which is secured an elongated tail of fluorescent material, preferably orange color. The tails may be from 1 to 3 inches long. The explosive charge in the shell is preferably reduced to a one-third or other fraction of a normal charge, to reduce the velocity of the pellets, so that the paths of the pellets are visible to the marksman.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to tracer shot shells. In marksman or sportsman shooting, at either a moving or stationary target, the gunner will know if he has hit the target, but if he misses, he usually does not know whether he missed because he aimed too high, too low, too far to the left, or too far to the right.

In shooting games, such as trap shooting, or skeet shooting, or blue rock shooting, it would be helpful for the gunner to know the path or trajectory of his shoot, so that he may correct for error in aiming.

Prior art tracer elements have included pyrotechnic materials, but in many situations use of such materials constitutes a fire hazard and is otherwise dangerous.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an improved form of tracer means which does not employ pyrotechnic materials.

Another object is to provide a visual aid for marksmanship which does not create a fire hazard and which does not endanger the personal safety of persons in the vicinity of the shooting.

A further object is to provide a sporting type of gallery, or target, or game shooting which may be used either indoors or outdoors.

The forgoing, as well as other objects and advantages, are accomplished by providing a shot shell having, in the power piston, pellets of rubber or plastic material to which are fused or otherwise secured elongated tails of fluroescent material, and providing the shell with an explosive charge of reduced magnitude, thereby to reduce the velocity of the pellets to a speed at which the tails are clearly visible to the gunner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a view, in section, of a shot shell embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view of one of the shot elements or pellets having an elongated fluorescent tail, according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view, in section, looking along the line 3-'-3 of FIG. 2, showing a plastic tail fused to a rubber pellet.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A presently preferred form of shot shell, according to the invention, is illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawing. The shot shell is identified comprehensively by the reference numeral 10. This shot shell is, in many respects, similar to a standard form of shell. It has a casing 12, which may preferably be of plastic, and a metal base 14 which may preferably be of brass. The base 14 may be crimped in well known manner, as at 16, to secure the base 14 to the casing 12.

Inserted in the metal base 14, at the center axis thereof, is a primer cap 15 which is adapted to be struck and exploded by the firing pin of the shotgun.

Within the base portion of the casing 12 is a base wad 17 which functions as a spacer or filler to reduce the size of the powder chamber. Gun powder 20 fills the powder chamber to the level indicated in FIG. 1.

A power piston 25 occupies the upper portion of the casing 12. Piston 25, which is preferably of plastic, has a base portion 26 and a hollow cylindrical upper portion 27. The upper portion of the wall of the hollow cylindrical portion 27 is slit lengthwise at spacing forming four quarter-section walls. The slits or slots are identified as 28.

The hollow portion or cavity of the power piston 25, is, in accordance with the present invention, filled with shot 3t). The shot 30 consists of a plurality of, for example, It) to 20 small round pellets 371, preferably of rubber, or plastic, or other suitable material. Each of the pellets 311, which may preferably have diameters of the order of 11/8 to ll/4", has fused, or otherwise secured, thereto an elongated tail 32, preferably of fluorescent color, for example, fluorescent orange. The tails 32 may be made of wool, or plastic, or rubber, or other suitable material. Each tail may be of the order of from I to 3" long.

The shot 3%, consisting of the pellets 3]! and the elongated tails 32, are put into the hollow cavity of the cylindrical power piston 25 with the tails extending toward the base 26 of the power piston, as illustrated in FIG. ll. In FIG. ll, nine pellets 3i and nine tails 32 are illustrated in the half of the shot shell which is visible in the sectional view there illustrated. Thus, the total number of pellets in the illustrated shot shell would be eighteen. The number of pellets 31, as previously indicated, may be varied according to the size of the pellets, the size of the shot shell, and other factors.

After the shot 30 has been placed into the power piston 25, the open end of the plastic casing 12 is crimped over in known manner to close the end of the shell. This crimping is illustrated in FIG. I by the crimpedover portions 113.

FIG. 2 illustrates one of the pellets 311 and its elongated tail 32.

FIG. 3 illustrates that the plastic tail 32 is fused at 33 to a rubber pellet 31.

As previously indicated, the tails 32 are preferably fluorescent. Each of tails 32 in the shell may have the same color, or the tails may be of different colors, or each tail may itself be multi-colored.

In accordance with the concept of my invention, the charge of gun powder 2i) placed in shot shell It] is preferably smaller than is ordinarily used in shells of the same size, for example, one-third that of a normal charge. The purpose is to reduce sufficiently the velocity at which the pellets 31 move toward the target so that the tails may be clearly seen, and also so that the shooting is safe for persons in the area.

When the primer cap I5 is struck by the firing pin of the shotgun, the cap is exploded, which in turn causes the charge of gun powder 249 to explode. The hot gases which are generated cause the power piston 25 to be projected. The crimped ends 113 of the casing open, and the piston 25 is projected through the barrel of the shotgun and out into space. The slotted walls of the piston 25 flare outwardly and the power piston 25 soon falls to the ground. The pellets 311 with their tails 32 streaming behind move on toward the target.

I have discovered that the fluorescent tails are clearly visible to the marksman or gunner. The more experienced the gunner, the faster the pellets 311 may be projected while still being clearly visible. The speed or velocity of the pellets is, of course, controlled by the size of the charge of gunpowder designed into the shell. In

any event, it is proposed that the pellet velocity be substantially less than that required to kill a living animal, bird, or person.

As a further safety measure, it is proposed that the shot shell of the present invention (which may be referred to as a visual shotgun shell to distinguish it from a kill"-type shotgun shell) be provided with a keyway and that the visual shell be used in combination with a safety sleeve having a key to prevent entry into the chamber of the gun of a kill shot.

The shot shell of the present invention may be used in either indoor shooting or outdoor shooting. The shell may be used, for example, in an indoor shooting gallery having a range of the order from to yards between the marksman and a net, with the net being approximately 20 feet high so as to capture all types of angle shots.

The shot shell of the present invention, having a reduced charge, is very desirably used for indoor shooting because of the small amount of noise made by the gun and the low velocity of the pellets 31. With the correct type of indoor lighting, the tails 32 of the pellets may be very clearly seen. Moving targets may be provided indoors by throwing manually, or automatically projecting, a variety of types of objects, from clay pigeons to tin cans. As previously indicated, all shotguns used for the visual type of indoor shooting should preferably be provided with a safety device, such as the combination of a keyed sleeve and a keyway on the shell which allows only the visible type of shot shell to enter the chamber. Alternatively, shotguns intended for use in such indoor shooting ranges could be made non-standard or off gauge, so that kill shells could not be used therewith.

The shot shells of the present invention are used for outdoor shooting in a manner generally similar to that for indoor shooting. Certain colors may be found to be better for daylight outdoor shooting that for indoor lighting. Also, if the distance of the outdoor range is greater, it may be necessary to use a shell having a greater charge, to provide a suitable trajectory for the outdoor range.

if desired, the shot shell of the present invention may be adapted and used in all, or at least most, of the known types of shotguns. ln general, the number of rubber pellets 31 and tails 32 in a shell adapted for a l2-gauge, or l6-gauge, or 20-gauge shotgun will be greater than that for a 410 gun.

It is generally recognized that the two most important factors which contribute to poor shooting on the part of inexperienced gunners are (l) the recoil of the shotgun, and (2) the noise made by the firing of the gun. knowledge that the gun will recoil wiht a loud noise causes the inexperienced gunner to flinch as he or she pulls the trigger. The inexperienced gunner may even involuntarily close his eyes in anticipation of the recoil and loud noise.

In shooting a kill shot, with the above-described factors of recoil and loud noise present. it is not surprising that the inexperienced shooter misses the target. Moreover, he has no way of knowing why he missed. He does not know whether he missed because his aim was too high, or too low, or too far to the left, or too far to the right. With the visual" shot, the shooter can make adjustments. He readily sees whether he has shot behind the target, or ahead of the target, or above the target, or below the target. Since the recoil and explosion are greatly reduced, the inexperienced gunner can direct his attention to noticing where his shot goes, and why he missed.

For outdoor shooting, the visual shot shell may also be used to advantage on what may be referred to as a non-kill hunting preserve, where the hunter enjoys shooting for its marksmanship, shooting at game which he does not want to kill. Due to the low velocity of the visual shot, the deer, or rabbit, or bird, at which he has aimed is not killed or injured by the shot. Yet the hunter knows that he has made a successful shot because he has visually observed the same.

I have described some of the uses and some of the advantages of the visual shot shell. I have also described a preferred construction. Other uses, other advantages, and other constructions may fall within the scope of my invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A shotgun shell having:

a. a tubular casing having a base;

b. a primer cap in said base;

c. an explosive charge in said casing adapted to be exploded when said primer cap is exploded;

d. a tubular power piston in said casing; and

e. shot within said power piston, said shot comprising:

e-l. a plurality of generally round pellets of resilient non-metallic material;

e-2. elongated flexible tails secured to said pellets;

e-3. said elongated tails having a length of the order of one to three inches;

e-4. said elongated tails being of material having a fluorescent color.

2. A shot shell according to claim 1 characterized in that said pellets hae a diameter of the order of oneeighth to one-fourth have 3. A shot shell according to claim 1 characterized in that said pellets are of rubber.

4. A shot shell according to claim 1 characterized in that said shot shell contains from ten to thirty of said pellets.

5. A shot shell according to claim 1 characterized in that said elongated tails are fused to said pellets. 

1. A shotgun shell having: a. a tubular casing having a base; b. a primer cap in said base; c. an explosive charge in said casing adapted to be exploded when said primer cap is exploded; d. a tubular power piston in said casing; and e. shot within said power piston, said shot comprising: e-1. a plurality of generally round pellets of resilient nonmetallic material; e-2. elongated flexible tails secured to said pellets; e-3. said elongated tails having a length of the order of one to three inches; e-4. said elongated tails being of material having a fluorescent color.
 2. A shot shell according to claim 1 characterized in that said pellets hae a diameter of the order of one-eighth to one-fourth have
 3. A shot shell according to claim 1 characterized in that said pellets are of rubber.
 4. A shot shell according to claim 1 characterized in that said shot shell contains from ten to thirty of said pellets.
 5. A shot shell according to claim 1 characterized in that said elongated tails are fused to said pellets. 